Freeman gets eight year deal from Braves

Atlanta, Georgia wasn't prepared for 3 inches of snowfall and it resulted in a massive traffic jam, dubbed Snow Jam 2014. Even Atlanta Braves first basemen Freddie Freeman needed a rescue from his former teammate Chipper Jones. Gillian Pensavalle...

on.aol.com

The Atlanta Braves locked down another member of their young core yesterday, avoiding arbitration with 1B Freddie Freeman and making him a part of the club into the next decade.

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Freeman was scheduled to go to arbitration with the Braves, but he and the club have agreed to an eight-year contract worth $135 million. It is the longest and richest contract ever awarded in Braves' history, surpassing Chipper Jones' six-year, $90 million deal signed in 2000.

Freeman is coming off the best season in his three-year career, hitting .309 with 23 HR and 109 RBI. He made his first All-Star Game as well. It was his third consecutive season with at least 20 HR.

Freeman was "humbled" by the news. "The first thing I've got to do is pay for a wedding," he said at a press conference this afternoon. "For them to believe in me with this kind of contract is truly an honor, humbling," he said. "But to happen this young, I never thought it would be even possible."

Freeman's deal comes on the heels of his teammate, Jason Heyward, also reaching a deal with the Braves to avoid arbitration. Heyward signed a two-year, $13.3 million deal yesterday afternoon.

The Braves now have just one player left that is scheduled to go to arbitration. Closer Craig Kimbrel and the Braves were more than $3 million apart in their requested amounts submitted to an arbitrator on January 17. It is unclear whether Kimbrel and the Braves will reach a deal prior to an arbitration hearing.

Share this article

Michael Francis is a freelance writer and engineer based in Atlanta, GA. He has been a credentialed member of the media to cover the Atlanta Hawks, and has been immersed in politcs for the past 20 years in Georgia and New York, covering politics on both the local level and national level for Examiner since 2008. Lastly, Michael is an on-again/off-again poker player, participating in and writing on events such as the World Series of Poker and Venetian's Deep-Stack Extravaganzas.

Chicagoans young and old and from all walks of life are saying a final farewell to baseball great Ernie Banks, the Cubs Hall of Famer known as "Mr. Cub" and "Mr. Sunshine." He died on Jan. 23 at age 83. Banks was revered him for his ever-optimistic...